The losing team scored two runs in eight of last night’s fifteen games. I have no idea if that’s uncommon or not, but I noticed it and I’m going to pretend it’s a sign or portent or something. Anyway:

Pirates 8, Giants 2: Welcome to the big leagues Gerrit Cole. The 2011 number one pick pitched shutout ball into the seventh before running out of gas, allowed two runs total, got the win and drove in the first two runs of the game with an RBI single.

Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 3: Any time you have a fight where some of the most active participants include multiple former MVPs and a couple of guys with arguments for one, well, that’s something. Hats off to you, Don Mattingly, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Mark McGwire, Matt Williams, and Don Baylor! Show ‘em how we do it, 80s-style!

Mariners 4, Astros 0: Aaron Harang got shellacked his last time out. This time? He tossed a two-hit, ten strikeout shutout in a game that lasted only two hours and fifteen minutes. He may be one of the more hard-to-predict pitchers of the past decade or so. Just never know what you’re gonna get with him.

Cardinals 9, Mets 2: Five unearned runs for the Cardinals, helped in part by a Daniel Murphy error at first base. Miss Ike yet? OK, maybe not. Allen Craig with a three-run homer. Michael Wacha got his first win and helped his own cause with an RBI.

Marlins 5, Brewers 4: Giancarlo Stanton returns and hits a two-run homer that put the Marlins in front for good. The Miami fans weren’t all that impressed with the return of their team’s best player, however: a paltry 13,110 bought tickets, the Marlins’ lowest attendance total of the year.

Blue Jays 7, White Sox 5: Chien-Ming Wang makes his 2013 debut. It wasn’t pretty — five runs and ten hits allowed in seven and a third innings — but he kept his team in the game. The winning run scored on a Ramon Troncoso wild pitch. In other news there was a fog delay at U.S. Cellular on Monday and a lighting malfunction delay on Tuesday.

Padres 3, Braves 2: Andrew Cashner allowed only two runs in eight innings — his longest career outing — and the Padres scored single runs in the first, second and third, which is all they needed.

Athletics 6, Yankees 4: A late rally by the Yankees fell short as Seth Smith made a nice catch on what looked like it could have been a game-tying homer by Travis Hafner in the ninth. Derek Norris homered and drove in four runs, Bartolo Colon continued to be as solid as a rock and the A’s won their eighth game in their last 11. They have the franchise’s best record at this point of the season since 1992.

Missed the NBA Finals. Was making a sandwich and then did some work on a freelance project with Mets/Cards playing in the background. Afterward, I walked the dogs, did some dishes and got ready for bed. Laid in bed for about an hour reading.

Oh, I’m sorry, I was under the impression from dondada10 that we were all expected to share the mundane, not possibly interesting aspects of our evenings last night.

Wang was adequate. He did manage to get out of a bases loaded none out jam. The key hit for the Jays was a 2 out, 2 strike home run by Bautista that sent the game into an extra inning. For the White Sox, their catcher had a game that he would rather forget so I will not mention his name.

Bautista has made a statement with the bat since the hissy fit over balls and strikes on Sunday. Three homers, one on the first pitch he saw on Monday in the AB directly after the meltdown, since. This last, the game tying, last out, last strike off of Addison Reed, the most significant. If one can see portends and significance in 2 run offence by losing and teams, then one doesn’t need to stretch too far to see significance in Bautista pwing baseballs in anger. This MEANS something! It means he’s KILLING balls he hits, I suppose, but that’s more meaning than a bunch of disconnected games.

Is all this angry homering connected in any way to tiny little Maicer Izturis running down 6’4″ Tyler Flowers? Of course it is! It is significant in that it made Hawk Harrelson STFU. We could do with more of these moments.

More importantly, he gave the beleaguered bullpen a much needed night off. Brett Cecil has been a freakin’ machine, and Mighty Casey, after a nail-biting ninth that saw the Big Donkey come to the plate with 2 on and 2 out, got it done this time. Nice comeback win!

adequate? since when did a 7 inning/10 hits/5 earned runs/2 HR’s become adequate? PC reminds me of that one mad tv skit “lowered expectations”. But in a way he is kinda right, compared to what dickey just did i guess Wang looks like a Cy Young winner!!

“adequate?” Whoosh! That was the sound of a joke going right over your head!

kcrobert10 - Jun 12, 2013 at 7:28 AM

Just got to say some bad umpiring going on right now all yr in baseball. In the la Arizona game some ejections should of happened prior to the fights. I mean how could you not see Kennedy and Zack hitting puig and Montero as anything but intinal. Also the kc Detroit game 3-2 bottom of the 9th runner at 2nd ump calls a strike on butler on a ball that almost hit him was for sure a ball then throws him out cause he got mad. Who wouldn’t hell I still am.

Valverde temporarily altered reality when he threw what looked like a curveball to Butler. It was a ball, but I think the issue was that Valverde’s pitch selection is either fastball with no movement and a splitter that doesn’t split (he only throws the split when the temp is over 82 degrees). I think he got the strike call because the umpire couldn’t believe it landed in Avila’s glove.

you should be trying to figure out that train wreck that is otherwise known as 2013 toronto bluejays. I mean if you want to talk about lousy well, they are the kings of lousy. Its like who do you start? There is enough blame to go around the entire team

historiophiliac - Jun 12, 2013 at 10:01 AM

“kings of lousy” he he Do you think that comes with a Lousy Crown?

nbjays - Jun 12, 2013 at 12:01 PM

I’m still trying to figure out the train wreck that is otherwise known as dirtyharry1971. If you want to talk about trolls, he is the King of Trolls.

See, anyone can post shit about someone else, but not everyone can capitalize and punctuate it properly.

cur68 - Jun 12, 2013 at 8:00 AM

Anytime Jon Farrell and his boy, Lester The Lacking, take a loss, well that is a good thing. Well done Devil Rayz. Now, just beat them one more time, eh? It IS Aceves tonight, so the least your boys could do is drive him crazy with hits. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? I imagine the road t’crazy for Aceves is no longer than a 2 minute trip to the corner store.

The Aceves crazy train and his crazy caboose are chugging in tonight? Oh, boy. Tempers may flail tonight.

dirtyharry1971 - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:46 AM

at least aceves cares about giving up hits, its pretty clear the entire rotation of the bluejays are used to giving up a ton of hits especially the looooooooooooooong ball

nbjays - Jun 12, 2013 at 12:05 PM

You do have a shift key on your keyboard, don’t you, ‘harry? It’s the one that makes little letters into big letters… you know, the ones that usually come at the beginning of a sentence or the beginning of someone’s name.

The losing team scored two runs in 8 games last night? Besides being a clear sign of the impending zombie apocalypse (don’t ask me how I know such things), maybe it means that losing teams count in ternary?

MVP Miggy did not go BOOM! He was walked twice and HBP. The benches did not clear and there was no retaliation. The only ejection was when Butler decided to argue a strike with the ump, but it was the 9th, so not a terrible time to lose him. I guess that makes it all low drama. His Heterochromianess was good — but not great. Spuds McWiggles didn’t blow it. In these things, we should be content.

PS I hope you will all join me in my Twitter campaign — in light of yesterday’s Senate vote — to urge Congress to deploy good old American porcupines along the International Boundary to stem the beavering horde that invades our movies and sports. Also, under this plan, people living half in Canada and half in the US would be prosecuted as traitors, since straddling boundaries is un-American and against God’s will.

(This post may be monitored or captured for quality assurance by the NSA.)

May be monitored? Your post has already been captured and logged. The authorities should be there any minute. It’s been a pleasure and an honor knowing you, ‘philiac. See ya on the other side.

I veto your proposal. We in Florida heart our Canadian snowbirds. Except for driving to damn slow while looking for the beach during rush hour, they’re unfailingly polite and pleasant, and their accent makes me smile. Most importantly, if not for them, we Floridians would have to pay state income tax. I propose passing a law to allow them to vote in our elections.

The good news is: when you get the munchies, you can roast some nuts in your tin foil three-cornered hat there. lol

heyblueyoustink - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:36 AM

Not much for the foil hat, however, I could show you how to take that tin foil and a shoe box to fry an egg!

/ Takes raw egg, cracks over your head.

historiophiliac - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:40 AM

Thanks, it’s good for your hair. It’s summer here, so it won’t be long before you can just fry your eggs on a car or sidewalk. I’m pretty sure I’ll be sweating more than the Rockies brass watching Oswalt Friday night.

unclemosesgreen - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:27 AM

Don Kelly? 2-2 and a true catalyst out of the second leadoff spot. Inge 2.0!

Jackson is due shortly – but with Dirks having gone cold, how can you possibly take Don Kelly out of the lineup? Clearly he has to start in LF. He’s Inge 2.0 – you can play him almost anywhere with …. equal results.

historiophiliac - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:38 AM

You’re a stinker.

unclemosesgreen - Jun 12, 2013 at 9:39 AM

That is truer than you could possibly know without smell-o-vision.

The Dangerous Mabry - Jun 12, 2013 at 8:11 AM

7 unearned runs for the Cards, not 5. A Neiuwenhuis dropped fly ball led to the other 2.

Sorry rat, we’re going to have to agree to disagree about who bores who the most. Meanwhile, howsabout trying not to sound so much like a dimwitted juvenile street punk when you post? “Suck it Garza” more than makes up for what it lacks in analytic insight or charm with, uh, street cred, I guess. You once claimed to have been educated. We haven’t seen any proof of that yet. You also once claimed to be 45. We haven’t seen any proof of that yet either.

Gator, nice to see you keeping up with PC and Cur by having your own personal troll.

/golf clap

Old Gator - Jun 12, 2013 at 12:42 PM

More than that, I have my own personal thumb harpies – two, I think. One has two accounts. I think of them as akin to the two geckos that live on the walls and cieling in our bedroom, though Renfield I & II, as we call them, make themselves useful by eating bugs.

What I don’t have, unfortunately, at 12:41 PM (ie lunchtime in Macondo) is a heaping hot smoked meat sandwich from Caplansky’s Deli on College Street in beautiful early summer Toronto. Nor is there anyplace in Macondo to get one. I may just have to take it upon myself to invade the Quebecois stronghold of Hollywood, across the cultural barrier at the Golden Glades interchange in North America, and look for a real Montreal style deli up there.

Unfortunately, that deli – assuming it exists during the orfseason – will not have Caplansky’s proprietary smoked meat donuts with hot maple syrup. Yes, you heard that right. You never knew it was possible to have a sensation like that so far up your body.

I know about the thumb harpies, OG. Every morning, about 10:30, two “downs” appear on all my posts. Amusing waste of time. Maybe it keeps them away from selling drugs to junior high kids, though. In that case, I’m providing a public service.

After mistaking the Mutts’ pitching staff for the buffet table in the clubhouse, the Feesh are getting spoiled again by the rickety Brewers staff. Derek Dietrich, who is clearly stronger than he looks, cracked a second inning rocket off the facade of the upper deck in right field that still had plenty of carry on it when it struck and bounced back onto the field. The Iron Giant deposited his usual test moonshot inside the retaining wall around Tommy’s base. Tommy got to light up twice yesterday. Boolah boolah!

News from the chronosynclastic infundibulum: as the Feesh pulled further away from their ghostly precedents with their Iron Giant fueled victory to stand at 19-45, the 1962 Mutts were losing to Hank Aaron, who homered twice, and the Milwaukee Braves 3-2 for a season record of 17-47. Clearly, the Rainbow Warriors have their work cut out for them if they want to undertake the Mutts for the worst seasonal record in modern MLB history.

Lost in the hoopla over Cole’s great start and the Dodgers/DBacks beanball war was a little late-game testiness in Pittsburgh, after Scutero was hit with a pitch. Might be interesting to see if Possey get his tower buzzed after seeing McCutchen get beaned.

Not sure I see the logic in moving Daniel Murphy to first. He was just becoming adequate at second, and now he’s got to figure out another position? Better to move Duda there and leave Valdespin in the outfield.

Jeremy Hefner could have been better, but I think he’s making a decent case for himself. The best we can hope for is that he, Gee and Marcum continue pitching reasonably well, and that someone will trade for Marcum, leaving the Mets with the rest of the year to see how a very young rotation copes. And some more talent for the minors.

Seems oddly quiet from the Phillies Phans recently. I think it’s amusing that we scored at least one run because of Revere’s noodle arm. Neither side is probably happy with their ROI from the trade, but I have to believe that the Twins are going to end up on the better side of the equation.